


Fate is going strange ways

by Frasers_soulmate



Category: due South
Genre: F/M, Family, Fate & Destiny, Hopeful Ending, Love, Miracles, Mounties (RCMP), Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-26 06:25:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17740577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frasers_soulmate/pseuds/Frasers_soulmate
Summary: When Ben's nineteen he's going to join the RCMP academy. His father gave him a necklace that once belonged to Ben's mother.Ben should keep it and one day give it to the person he truly loves.Unfortunately he lost this necklace.But when he thinks he'ld never see it again, fate has other plans...





	Fate is going strange ways

**Author's Note:**

> This is the translation to the German story “Das Schicksal geht seltsame Wege“.  
> It's for all of my dueser friends who don't want or can't read with a translator.  
> Have fun!  
> I would also like any comment (except the rude ones LOL).
> 
> Thank you kindly!

Fate is,  
if you find something  
what you never looked for  
and then realize  
that you never wanted anything else.

 

Inuvik Northwest Territories Canada 1980

Next week was the great day Ben would leave his hometown of Inuvik and travel to Regina / Saskatchewan, 2541 km away.

As he packed his things, he thought of his beloved grandmother, whom he would leave alone.  
His grandfather had died two years ago.

He was sorry to leave her, but he knew he had to go that way. It was meant for him before he was even born.

Grandmother Fraser said it was perfectly alright that he was going his way and she would be fine, but he didn't believe her that much.

Who should chop wood and get water?

Who should help her in the library?

What if something happened to her and nobody was there for help? She was almost seventy, after all.

But Grandma calmed him down and said she was going to ask the neighbor boy James Adlartok if he would help her out.

James was three years younger than Ben and still went to school.

Ben had known him for years. The Inuit boy was a nice young man, very polite and helpful, and Ben knew he would be happy to assist grandmother. That calmed him down a bit.

Two days before his great adventure began, his father came home, which was very unusual at this time of the year.

Grandmother was equally astonished and asked her son if anything had happened. But Bob just waved a laugh and said he didn't want to leave his son alone on his great day.

That surprised Ben then, because his father had never come home just because of him.

That didn't mean he didn't love him or be proud of him, Ben knew that. His father just couldn't show it that way. Emotions were secondary in the Fraser House.

Ben was very happy about his father's visit. Grandmother wanted to give a big banquet the night before Ben's departure. All neighbors and friends were invited.

She busied her son and grandson with the preparations, and since she was a very feisty person despite her age, neither dared to argue.

The evening was a resounding success, and Martha Fraser made sure of that. All guests shook Ben's hand or patted him on the shoulder and congratulated him.

Even his old friend Mark Smithbauer had come and they talked about old times.

Mark revealed to him that he had received an offer from the University of Montreal. As a sports student. Ice hockey has always been his passion. Ben was happy for him and said he shouldn't forget him when he's famous.

When the last guest left, and the biggest chaos was over, Bob Fraser took his boy aside.

He went with him to the porch, where he offered him a bottle of beer and a cigar.  
Ben took the beer, he’d never had a beer with his father before, but he refused the cigar. At fourteen, he and Mark had secretly took cigars from Mark's father and smoked them down by the river. Ben had vomited violently and Mark had laughed at him and said he was just a baby.

Ben had secretly decided to never smoke again.  
But a beer with his dad was okay.

"Now the time has come, son," Bob said.

"Yes, now the time has come, Dad," Ben replied, rubbing his brow with his thumb.

Neither he nor his father had any experience with these father-son conversations.

 

Bob smiled. "I'm proud of you, Benton. I want you to know that."

It was the first time Bob said that to his son.

Ben was surprised and a little bashful.

But he was happy too. It was a quiet joy.

"Thanks, Dad."

Bob reached into his pocket and pulled out a small package wrapped in a white handkerchief.

He cleared his throat a few times before saying, "Ben, I want you to take this. It's your mother's necklace. I gave it to her as an engagement gift and she always wore it. Day and night. She never took it off."

He handed the package to Ben and continued, "Your mother wanted you to get it and one day give it to the woman you love dearly and with whom you want to spend your life and start a family. She always said that."

 

Ben saw the tears shimmer in his father's eyes. He too had to swallow.

He remembered this necklace with the little golden maple leaf very well. How many times had he played with it, sitting in the warmth of the fireplace on his mother's lap in cold winter nights, cuddling with her while she told him wonderful stories.

That was so long ago.

And suddenly she wasn't there anymore.

"Your mother would be very proud of you, Ben."  
Bob's voice was a bit rough. "I miss her."

"I miss her too, Dad," Ben answered softly.

\-------------------------------------------------- --------------

 

Regina Saskatchewan Canada 1983

Today was the grand final maneuver of the RCMP cadets.

Benton Fraser lay in his quarters and couldn't sleep anymore. He was excited. Would everything work as he imagined?

He had completed the theoretical exam a week ago and was sure that he had done very well.

The maneuver today was the last part of the exam. If he passed it, he would be a real mountie in a few weeks.

He decided to get up and go down to the river for a few laps.

Ben heard the sound of the wake-up call in the distance.

Now all cadets had to get up, made their beds and compete for morning exercise.

Then there was breakfast and then it went out into the grounds.

He quickly climbed out of the water, dried himself and dressed. Then he jogged back to the shelter.

The practice maneuver was in full swing and Ben was in trouble.

He had made a mistake and trapped the troops entrusted to him.

"Oh dear!"

Somehow he had to make amends. Just how?

He thought, automatically reaching for his talisman, his mother's necklace with the little maple leaf pendant he always wore around his neck.

But, oh dear, the necklace wasn't there anymore!

He must have lost it somewhere.

 

But where?

Here?

This morning by the river?

Already in the accommodation?

Well, there was no time now. He would look for it later. Now he had to save his troop.

In the late afternoon Ben's troupe arrived tired but relieved at the finish.

Together they had found a solution to their dilemma, even though it seemed hopeless at first.

They were the second most successful troupe at the finish.

The next day the cadets had a day off and Ben set out to find his mother's necklace.

He was heartbroken. What should he say to his father?

The necklace was the only thing he had from his mother. The necklace and his memories. Now only the memories remained.

Ben searched all day and half the night until he fell dead tired on his cot.

The next day he searched further and the next one ...

He never found the necklace again.

\----------------------------------------------------------------

Chicago Illinois USA 1996

Ben Fraser was sitting on the bed in his little apartment, thinking.

His supervisor, Inspector Margaret Thatcher, had asked him if he would accompany her to the theater this evening.

She had two cards, but her original escort had canceled. Some emergency.

Ben had no idea who the "original company" was. He didn't want to know.

Outwardly he told himself he was only doing his duty when he accompanied her. Besides, it's virtuous, as his grandmother would say.

But if he was honest, it made him happy that he was allowed to accompany her, even though he seemed to be second only.

He would never admit it, but he had developed feelings for his superior.

At first it seemed as if she, too, felt something for him.

At least since the incident with the train ...

Stop! Ben reminded himself.

Inspector Thatcher had forbidden him to think about it.

But was that possible?

Could one ban thoughts?

He looked at his watch. Oh dear!

It was time he got ready.

Diefenbaker, his deaf wolf, came to him, cocked his head and looked at him reproachfully.

Ben sighed. "Yes, alright, Dief ..."

 

Inspector Thatcher had said, "But don't come in your uniform, Fraser. This is not an official occasion. I hope you have a suit."

 

Yes, somewhere in the closet he had one. Almost new. It still fits.

Ben was very nervous as he rang on Inspector Thatcher's door.

He held a bouquet of flowers in his hand. Mixed colors. No roses.

She opened and Ben's heart suddenly beat faster.

She was beautiful in the short black dress with the red collar.

He cleared his throat.

"Um ... good evening, sir ... ma'am ..."

She smiled. "Call me Margaret for today. Or better, Meg. It's not an official occasion."

Ben blushed. "Yes, ma'am ... er, Meg."

 

He held out the flowers to her. "For you. I ... I thought ... ", nervously he rubbed his thumb over his brow.

A warm smile beamed at him as she took the bouquet from him.

"Thanks, Fraser. They are beautiful. "

"Ben," he replied softly.

She invited him in and offered him a seat. She would be ready soon.

Ben was too nervous to sit down.

He stood in front of the bookshelf, watching the titles.

Books were familiar to him, he had grown up with them. They calmed his wildly beating heart.

"Ben?" Meg's voice broke his mind.

"Could you please help me out? I can't close my necklace."

Ben turned to her. She stood with her back to him and lifted her hair so that he could get to the clasp of her necklace.

For a moment he stared at her tender, pale neck and the soft down of her hairline. His fingers trembled as he tried to close the necklace and it fell from his hand.

"Sorry," he mumbled and bent quickly to pick it up.

Suddenly he stopped moving. He stared fixedly at the necklace in his hand.

It was golden, with a small maple leaf as a pendant.

"Ben? Is everything ok?"

Meg's voice sounded a bit worried and got him out of his rigidity.

Slowly he got up. "Yes," he said. "Meg? May I ask where you got this necklace from? "

She laughed. "That's a strange story," she said. "If it really interests you, I'll tell you on the way to the theater. Come, it's time. "

In the car, Meg kept her promise and started:

"I've had this necklace for many years. I found it on a riverbank when I was in Regina at the Academy. It was the summer of 1984. On our last day of exams I couldn't sleep anymore so I decided to go swimming in the river ..."

TYK


End file.
